Sura XVIII (18)
The Cave
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Praise
be to God, who hath sent down the Book to his servant, and hath not made it
tortuous
But
direct; that it may warn of a grievous woe from him, and announce to the
faithful who do the things that are right, that a goodly reward, wherein they
shall abide for ever, awaiteth them;
And
that it may warn those who day, "God hath begotten a Son."
No
knowledge of this have either they or their fathers! A grievous saying to come
out of their mouths! They speak no other than a lie!
And
haply, if they believe not in this new revelation, thou wilt slay thyself, on
their very footsteps, out of vexation.
Verily,
we have made all that is on earth as its adornment, that we might make trial
who among mankind would excel in works:
But we
are surely about to reduce all that is thereon to dust!
Hast
thou reflected that the Inmates of The Cave and of Al Rakim were one of our
wondrous signs?
When
the youths betook them to the cave they said, "O our Lord! grant us mercy
from before thee, and order for us our affair aright."
18:10 Then struck we upon their ears with
deafness in the cave for many a year:
Then we
awaked them that we might know which of the two parties could best reckon the
space of their abiding.
We
will relate to thee their tale with truth., They were youths who had believed
in their Lord, and in guidance had we increased them;
And we
had made them stout of heart, when they stood up and said, 'Our Lord is Lord of
the Heavens and of the Earth: we will call on
no other God than Him; for in that case we had said a thing outrageous.
These
our people have taken other gods beside Him, though they bring no clear proof
for them; but, who m ore iniquitous than he who forgeth a lie of God?
So
when you shall have separated you from them and from that which they worship
beside God, then betake you to the cave: Your
Lord will unfold his mercy to you, and will order your affairs for you for the
best."
And
thou mightest have seen the sun when it arose, pass on the right of their cave,
and when it set, leave them on the left, while they were in its spacious
chamber. This is one of the signs of God. Guided indeed is he whom God guideth;
but for him whom He misleadeth, thou shalt by no means find a patron, director.
And
thou wouldst have deemed them awake, though they were sleeping: and we turned them to the right and to the left.
And in the entry lay their dog with paws outstretched. Hadst thou come suddenly
upon them, thou wouldst surely have turned thy back on them in flight, and have
been filled with fear at them.
So we
awaked them that they might question one another. Said one of them, "How
long have you tarried here?" They said, "We have tarried a day or
part of a day." They said, "Your Lord knoweth best how long you have
tarried: Send now one of you with this your
coin into the city, and let him mark who therein hath purest food, and from him
let him bring you a supply: and let him be
courteous, and not discover you to any one.
For
they, if they find you out, will stone you or turn you back to their faith, and
in that case it will fare ill with you for ever."
18:20 And thus made we their adventure known
to their fellow citizens, that they might learn that the promise of God is
true, and that as to "the Hour" there is no doubt of its coming. When
they disputed among themselves concerning what had befallen them, some said,
"Build a building over them; their Lord knoweth best about them."
Those who prevailed in the matter said, "A place of worship will we surely
raise over them."
Some
say, "They were three; their dog the fourth:"
others say, "Five; their dog the sixth," guessing at the secret: others say "Seven; and their dog the
eighth." Say: My Lord best knoweth the
number: none, save a few, shall know them.
Therefore
be clear in thy discussions about them, and ask not any Christian concerning
them.
Say
not thou of a thing, "I will surely do it to-morrow;" without,
"If God will." And when thou has forgotten, call thy Lord to mind;
and say, "Haply my Lord will guide me, that I may come near to the truth
of this story with correctness."
And
they tarried in their cave 300 years, and 9 years over.
Say: God best knoweth how long they tarried: With Him are the secrets of the Heavens and of the
Earth: Look thou and hearken unto Him alone.
Man hath no guardian but Him, and none may bear part in his judgments: --
And
publish what hath been revealed to thee of the Book of thy Lord -- none may
change his words, -- and thou shalt find no refuge beside Him.
Be
patient with those who call upon their Lord at morn and even, seeking his face: and let not thine eyes be turned away from them in
quest of the pomp of this life; neither obey him whose heart we have made
careless of the remembrance of Us, and who followeth his own lusts, and whose
ways are unbridled.
And
say: the truth is from your Lord: let him then who will, believe; and let him who
will, be an infidel. But for the offenders we have got ready the fire whose
smoke shall enwrap them: and if they implore
help, helped shall they be with water like molten brass which shall scald their
faces. Wretched the drink! and an unhappy couch!
But as
to those who have believed and done the things that are right, -- Verily we
will not suffer the reward of him whose works were good, to perish!
18:30 For them, the gardens of Eden, under
whose shades shall river flow: decked shall
they be therein with bracelets of gold, and green robes of silk and rich
brocade shall they wear, reclining them therein on thrones. Blissful the
reward! and a pleasant couch!
And
set forth to them as a parable two men; on one of whom we bestowed two gardens
of grape vines, and surrounded both with palm trees, and placed corn fields
between them: Each of the gardens did yield
its fruit, and failed not thereof at all:
And we
caused a river to flow in their midst: And
this man received his fruit, and said, disputing with him, to his companion,
"More have I than thou of wealth, and my family is mightier."
And he
went into his garden -- to his own soul unjust. He said, "I do not think
that this will ever perish:
And I
do not think that 'the Hour' will come: and
even if I be taken back to my Lord, I shall surely find a better than it in
exchange."
His
fellow said to him, disputing with him, "What! hast thou no belief in him
who created thee of the dust, then of the germs of life, then fashioned thee a
perfect man?
But
God is my Lord; and no other being will I associate with my Lord.
And
why didst thou not say when thou enteredst thy garden, 'What God willeth! there
is no power but in God.' Though thou seest that I have less than thou of wealth
and children,
Yet
haply my Lord may bestow upon me better than thy garden, and may send his bolts
upon it out of Heaven, so that the next dawn shall find it barren dust;
Or its
water become deep sunk, so that thou art unable to find it."
18:40 And his fruits were encompassed by
destruction. Then began he to turn down the palms of his hands at what he had
spent on it; for its vines were falling down on their trellises, and he said,
"Oh that I had not joined any other god to my Lord!"
And he
had no host to help him instead of God, neither was he able to help himself.
Protection
in such a case is of God -- the Truth: He is
the best rewarder, and He bringeth to the best issue.
And
set before them a similitude of the present life. It is as water which we send
down from Heaven, and the herb of the Earth is mingled with it, and on the
morrow it becometh dry stubble which the winds scatter:
for God hath power over all things.
Wealth
and children are the adornment of this present life:
but good works, which are lasting, are better in the sight of thy Lord as to
recompense, and better as to hope.
18:45 And call to mind the day when we will
cause the mountains to pass away, and thou shalt see the earth a levelled
plain, and we will gather mankind together, and not leave of them any one.
And
they shall be set before thy Lord in ranks: --
"Now are you come unto us as we created you at first: but you thought that we should not make good to
you the promise."
And
each shall have his book put into his hand:
and thou shalt see the wicked in alarm at that which is therein: and they shall say, "O woe to us! what
meaneth this Book? It leaveth neither small nor great unnoted down!" And
they shall find all that they have wrought present to them, and thy Lord will
not deal unjustly with any one.
When
we said to the angels, "Prostrate yourselves before Adam," they all
prostrated them save Eblis, who was of the Djinn, and revolted from his Lord's
behest. -- What! will you then take him and his offspring as patrons rather
than Me? and they your enemies? Sad exchange for the ungodly!
I made
them not witnesses of the creation of the Heavens and of the Earth, nor of
their own creation, neither did I take seducers as my helpers.
18:50 On a certain day, God shall say,
"Call you on the companions you joined with me, deeming them to be gods:" and they shall call on them, but they shall
not answer them: then will we place a valley
of perdition between them:
And
the wicked shall see the fire, and shall have a foreboding that they shall be
flung into it, and they shall find no escape from it.
And
now in this Koran we have presented to man similitudes of every kind: but, at most things is man a caviller.
And
what, now that guidance is come to them, letteth men from believing and from
asking forgiveness of their Lord -- unless they wait till that the doom of the
ancients overtake them, or the chastisement come upon them in the sight of the
universe?
We
send not our Sent Ones but to announce and to warn:
but the infidels cavil with vain words in order to refute the truth; and they
treat my signs and their own warnings with scorn.
But
who is worse than he who when told of the signs of his Lord turneth him away
and forgetteth what in time past his hands have wrought? Truly we have thrown
veils over their hearts lest they should understand this Koran, and into their
ears a heaviness:
And if
thou bid them to "the guidance" yet will they not even then be guided
ever.
The
gracious one, full of compassion, is thy Lord! if he would have chastised them
for their demerits he would have hastened their chastisement. But they have a
time fixed for the accomplishment of our menaces:
and beside God they shall find no refuge.
And
those cities did we destroy when they became impious; and of their coming
destruction we gave them warning.
Remember
when Moses said to his servant, "I will not stop till I reach the
confluence of the two seas, or for years will I journey on."
18:60 But when they reached their
confluence, they forgot their fish, and it took its way in the sea at will.
And
when they had passed on, said Moses to his servant, "Bring us our morning
meal; for now have we incurred weariness from this journey."
He
said, "What thinkest thou? When we repaired to the rock for rest I forgot
the fish; and none but Satan made me forget it, so as not to mention it; and it
hath taken its way in the sea in a wondrous sort."
He
said, "It is this we were in quest of." And they both went back
retracing their footsteps.
Then
found they one of our servants to whom we had vouchsafed our mercy, and whom we
had instructed with our knowledge.
And
Moses said to him, "Shall I follow thee that thou teach me, for guidance,
of that which thou too hast been taught?"
He
said, "Verily, thou canst not have patience with me;
How
canst thou be patient in matters whose meaning thou comprehendest not?"
He
said, "Thou shalt find me patient if God please, nor will I disobey thy
bidding."
He
said, "Then, if thou follow me, ask me not of aught until I have given
thee an account thereof."
18:70 So they both went on, till they
embarked in a ship, and he -- the unknown -- staved it in. "What!"
said moses, "hast thou staved it in that thou mayest drown its crew? a
strange thing now hast thou done!"
He
said, "Did I not tell thee that thou couldst not have patience with
me?"
He
said, "Chide me not that I forgat, nor lay on me a hard command."
Then
went they on till they met a youth, and he slew him. Said Moses, "Hast
thou slain him who is free from guilt of blood? Now hast thou wrought a
grievous thing!"
He
said, "Did I not tell thee that thou couldst not have patience with
me?"
Moses
said, "If after this I ask thee aught, then let me be thy comrade no
longer; but now hast thou my excuse."
They
went on till they came to the people of a city. Of this people they asked food,
but they refused them for guests. And they found in it a wall that was about to
fall, and he set it upright. Said Moses, "If thou hadst wished, for this
thou mightest have obtained pay."
He
said, "This is the parting point between me adn thee. But I will first
tell thee the meaning of that which thou couldst not await with patience.
"As
to the vessel, it belonged to poor men who toiled upon the sea, and I was
minded to damage it, for in their rear was a king who seized every ship by
force.
As to
the youth, his parents were believers, and we feared lest he should trouble
them by error and infidelity.
18:80 And we desired that their Lord might
give them in his place a child, better than he in virtue, and near to filial
piety.
As to
the wall, it belonged to two orphan youths in the city, and beneath it was
their treasure: and their father was a
righteous man: and thy Lord desired that they
should reach the age of strength, and take force their treasure through the
mercy of thy Lord. And not of mine own will have I done this. This is the
interpretation of that which thou couldst not bear with patience."
They
will ask thee of Dhoulkarnain [the two-horned]. Say:
I will recite to you an account of him.
We
stablished his power upon the earth, and made for him a way to everything. And
a route his followed,
Until
when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it to set in a miry fount; and
hard by he found a people.
We
said, "O Dhoulkarnain! either chastise or treat them generously."
"The
impious," said he, "will we surely chastise;" then shall he be
taken back to his Lord, and he will chastise him with a grievous chastisement.
But as
to him to believeth and doeth that which is right, he shall have a generous
recompense, and we will lay on them our easy behests.
Then
followed he a route,
Until
when he reached the rising of the sun he found it to rise on a people to whom
we had given no shelter from it.
18:90 Thus it was. And we had full knowledge
of the forces that were with him.
Then
followed he a route
Until
he came between the two mountains, beneath which he found a people who scarce
understood a language.
They
said, "O Dhoulkarnain! verily, God and Magog waste this land: shall we then pay thee tribute, so thou build a
rampart between us and them?"
He
said, "Better than your tribute is the might wherewith my Lord had
strengthened me; but help me strenuously, and I will set a barrier between you
and them.
Bring
me blocks of iron," -- until when it filled the space between the mountain
sides -- "Ply," said he, "your bellows," -- until when he
had made it red with heat (fire), he said, -- "Bring me molten brass that
I may pour upon it."
And
God and Magog were not able to scale it, neither were they able to dig through
it.
"This,"
said he, "is a mercy from my Lord:
But when
the promise of my Lord shall come to pass, he will turn it to dust; and the
promise of my Lord is true."
On
that day we will let them dash like billows one over another; and there shall
be a blast on the trumpet, and we will gather them together in a body.
18:100 And we will set Hell on that day close
before the infidels,
Whose
eyes were veiled from my warning, and who had no power to hear.
What!
do the infidels think that they can take my servants as their patrons, beside
Me? Verily, we have got Hell ready as the abode of the infidels.
Say: Shall we tell you who they are that have lost
their labour most?
Whose
aim in the present life hath been mistaken, and who deem that what they do is
right?
They
are those who believe not in the signs of the Lord, or that they shall ever
meet him. Vain, therefore, are their works; and no weight will we allow them on
the day of resurrection.
This
shall be their reward -- Hell. Because they were unbelievers, and treated my
signs and my Apostles with scorn.
But as
for those who believe and do the things that are right, they shall have the
gardens of
They
shall remain therein for ever: they shall wish
for no change from it.
Say: Should the sea become ink, to write the words of
my Lord, the sea would surely fail ere the words of my Lord would fail, though
we brought its like in aid.
18:110 Say:
In sooth I am only a man like you. It hath been revealed to me that your God is
one only God: let him then who hopeth to meet
his Lord work a righteous work: nor let him
give any other creature a share in the worship of his Lord.